If The Patriots Don’t Move Tim Tebow To A Position Besides Quarterback, This Whole Thing Is Just A Publicity Stunt

When the Patriots signed walking media circus and sometimes-quarterback Tim Tebow yesterday, there were reports that he might spend time at tight end or even running back. This made sense: The Patriots have two talented but oft-injured TEs and Tebow could help shore up their depth chart.

But then we saw this:

Patriots did not sign Tim Tebow to play RB nor TE. They signed him to play QB. Backup QB. Tom Brady will not lose a play.

So what exactly is Tim Tebow doing in New England? They signed a sideshow to play backup to the backup of one of the greatest quarterbacks in history. Tom Brady will never come out of the game for Tebow to run Wildcat and/or get hit with a delay of game penalty. If Brady was injured, Ryan Mallet — who has been studying under Brady for years — would get the call. And even if Mallet gets injured, the Patriots would be left with a guy who couldn’t even supplant Butt Fumble for the starting job in New York. Surely there are more talented third-string QBs floating around the NFL free agency pool — guys who can throw consistent spirals, at least.

And as Business Insider’s Tony Manfred expertly pointed out, the only thing that Tebow can do moderately well as a quarterback — run the ball in short-yardage situations — just so happens to be one of Tom Brady’s greatest strengths: Brady is 18 for 19 on 4th-and-1 QB sneaks in his NFL career.

The Patriots signed a guy who will only give them media headaches in exchange for likely never seeing the field. He’s already proven he doesn’t have what it takes to be an NFL quarterback (and if by some grace of [SCIENCE] he suddenly does, he won’t get the chance to show that as long as Tom Brady is in the league), so why not let him takes snaps at another skill position? His team-first mentality won’t amount to much unless you let him do something for the team.

If Tebow doesn’t make it out of minicamp as the third string QB? If he gets discarded, as some expect he will, and thrown back into football limbo? If he spends the next two seasons riding the bench? … What was the point of all this? It seems very uncharacteristic for the Patriots organization to stage a publicity stunt, yet that’s all Tebow is at this juncture.